Fast acquisition with seamless stage translation (FASST) for a trimodal x‐ray breast imaging system

Abstract

Purpose: A major technical obstacle to bringing x-ray multicontrast (i.e., attenuation, phase, and dark-field) imaging methodology to clinical use is the prolonged data acquisition time caused by the phase stepping procedure. The purpose of this work was to introduce a fast acquisition with seamless stage translation (FASST) technique to a prototype multicontrast breast imaging system for reduced image acquisition time that is clinically acceptable. Methods: The prototype system was constructed based on a Hologic full-field digital mammography + digital breast tomosynthesis combination system. During each FASST acquisition process, a motorized stage holding a diffraction grating travels continuously with a constant velocity, and a train of 15 short x-ray pulses (35 ms each) was delivered by using the Zero-Degree Tomo mode of the Hologic system. Standard phase retrieval was applied to the 15 subimages without spatial interpolation to avoid spatial resolution loss. The method was evaluated using a physical phantom, a bovine udder specimen, and a freshly resected mastectomy specimen. The FASST technique was experimentally compared with single-shot acquisition methods and the standard phase stepping method. Results: The image acquisition time of the proposed method is 3.7 s. In comparison, conventional phase stepping took 105 s using the same prototype imaging system. The mean glandular dose of both methods was matched at 1.3 mGy. No artifacts or spatial resolution loss was observed in images produced by FASST. In contrast, the single-shot methods led to spatial resolution loss and residual moir e artifacts. Conclusions: The FASST technique reduces the data acquisition time of the prototype multicontrast x-ray breast imaging system to 3.7 s, such that it is comparable to a clinical digital breast tomosynthesis exam.

Development and preclinical evaluation of a patient‐specific high energy x‐ray phase sensitive breast tomosynthesis system

“…X-ray phase sensitive imaging technology has considerable potential in imaging human organs such as breasts and lungs for early and accurate diagnosis of disease. [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] Theoretical and technological progress over the last two decades has expanded the range of phase sensitive imaging applications to higher x-ray energies, thus allowing imaging of thicker samples with polyenergetic sources. Also, the development of advanced single distance phase retrieval algorithms has reduced scan times and lowered patient radiation dose, by negating the need to acquire multiple distance exposure images.…”

“…X‐ray phase sensitive imaging technology has considerable potential in imaging human organs such as breasts and lungs for early and accurate diagnosis of disease 34–52 . Theoretical and technological progress over the last two decades has expanded the range of phase sensitive imaging applications to higher x‐ray energies, thus allowing imaging of thicker samples with polyenergetic sources.…”

“…34,35 Several research groups have developed and applied different phase contrast imaging techniques for breast imaging. [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] Clinically, the inline phase contrast imaging technique has been utilized at a synchrotron facility to investigate phase contrast mammography, and a clinical trial concluded that this technique more definitively diagnosed indeterminate or potentially suspicious breast anomalies identified by digital mammography. [46][47][48][49] More recently, preclinical studies performed with a synchrotron light source have demonstrated that inline phase sensitive breast computed tomography (CT) can achieve superior diagnostic potential compared to conventional clinical breast CT systems, while also delivering a considerably lower mean glandular dose.…”

“…One of the earliest medical applications of x‐ray phase contrast imaging was in breast imaging 34,35 . Several research groups have developed and applied different phase contrast imaging techniques for breast imaging 36–45 . Clinically, the inline phase contrast imaging technique has been utilized at a synchrotron facility to investigate phase contrast mammography, and a clinical trial concluded that this technique more definitively diagnosed indeterminate or potentially suspicious breast anomalies identified by digital mammography 46–49 .…”

Phase and dark‐field imaging with mesh‐based structured illumination and polycapillary optics

“…Our method shares similarities with both Talbot–Lau interferometry 18–23 and speckle‐based imaging 24,25 . In Talbot–Lau interferometry, a beam is patterned with a periodic structure finer than the detector resolution.…”